Diving in Placencia Belize

Diving in Placencia Belize

From all around the globe, people flock to the amazing waters of Belize in order to enjoy top-quality scuba diving. A combination of balmy weather, crystal clear waters, and a thriving marine ecosystem make Belize the perfect place for scuba diving.

Just a few miles off the coast of Belize lies the Belize Barrier Reef, the largest barrier reef system in the Northern Hemisphere. And some of the finest dive sites in Belize can be found near Placencia in the southeastern part of the country. Literally, hundreds of amazing dive sites are found in this area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, including sites for both expert and beginner divers.

Many of these dive sites are inside protected conservation areas, including the Laughing Bird Caye National Park, the South Water Caye Marine Reserve, and the Half Moon Caye Natural Monument. These protected areas ensure that divers are guaranteed to see an explosion of colorful marine life, including huge schools of fish, dozens of species of sharks, stingrays and manta rays, lobsters, eels, five different species of sea turtles, manatees, pods of dolphins, and even the occasional whale.

These dive sites include shallow coastal waters, sandy canyons, twisting coral massages, and vertical walls. Mangrove-lined lagoons serve as a protected breeding area for many of these species, giving divers a chance to see juvenile fish, crabs, and shrimps.

Because the weather in Belize is balmy all year, every month is a good time to enjoy some scuba diving. Visibility is very high, usually ranging from 80 to 100 feet. Water temperatures are also quite pleasant, ranging from 77F (26 C) during January and February to around 84F (29C) in September. As such, most scuba divers can forego using an exposure suit.

The top scuba diving attraction on the reef is between April and June when huge schools of whale sharks come to feed in the area around Gladden Split on the outer part of the reef. The largest non-mammalian species in the ocean, whale sharks can measure up to 41 feet (12 meters) long and weigh up to 47,000 pounds (21 tons). Despite their huge size, whale sharks are filter feeders that only eat plankton and fish spawn, so they pose little danger to human divers.